whats with this Tahoe

[mike8750]

hey guys im new and thgis is my first post. I have a 2000 Z71 Tahoe and love it problem is when i buy parts i dont know if it falls under the 94-99 body style ( which is what it looks like) or the 2000-2006 model the "newer rounder body style. well i bought a westin grille guard on craigslist, it fits a 99 which is what mine looks like but the bumper is differnt (his didnt have the z71 fog lights ...anyway my question is what happened this year with the Z71 and is it on the same base as the 94-99 ( which is what it looks like) or the 00-06 (which is does not look like but it is) . do i have to buy a 00-06 grille guard or a 94-99 grille guard...thanks guys

 

[Rollin Thunder]

Yours is what they call a tahoe classic, the same year as the new gen, but still the old style, you want what ever fits a 99 as its the same style as that.

Gm did the same thing in 07 with the silverados and sierras.

 

[MOBmentality]

Yup i had an 07 classic sierra.. and some of the interior parts.. and stuff when we went to do the system.. wanted 07 parts.. and the grill and stuff like that all wanted 06 parts.

 

[mike8750]

so its a 99 with a 00 birthdate? so all parts should be 99 i.e the westin grille

 

[Effeckt]

so its a 99 with a 00 birthdate? so all parts should be 99 i.e the westin grille

You got it! I always thought it was weird how they did that. Why not have an straight switch of styles. I get that they have leftover parts but why not just call it the previous year?

 

[mike8750]

haha this is crazy... a guy on the 07 forum said trust the year....i appericate the answers BTW

 

[Eagle]

You got it! I always thought it was weird how they did that. Why not have an straight switch of styles. I get that they have leftover parts but why not just call it the previous year?

Because they hold over the heavier duty/work/fleet vehicles for a couple of years while they debug the new ones on individual customers.
It is necessary when switching body styles means Podunk, Ky, won't be able to use the $5,000 _______ that they already have on the shelf for their next police Tahoe, or the fire chief's silverado they had budgeted to procure a year before (or two years before).

Not only that, they need data on reliability and maintenance costs, before they will consider switching. They get one last chance to buy fleet vehicles that will integrate seamlessly into the existing fleet, or to replace the very oldest ones with a model that can use the same add-ons, before they have to buy all new vehicles and all new accessories. OEMs get an extra year for powertrain development and testing on the heavier duty variants this way also.

IIRC the last time GM made a clean break on 3500 and under was the 72/73 switch. And they only had single cabs, blazer, and suburbans in the 72, converting also to single cabs, ( 3+3 3500 only) new blazer, and suburban in 3 trim levels with mostly dealer install options, and only 3 power plants IIRC, i6, 350 and 454.

At least it is only one year... the 87/88 GM switch took 3 years for blazer, suburban, and HD pickups. 88, 89, and 90.

Ford took 4 years to change their Bronco and HD pickups... from 94 on the f150 to 98 for the rest...

 

[mikeyboy]

when i get parts for my 2000 round style i need to ask for 2001 parts